The 2026 Esports World Cup PUBG: Battlegrounds tournament will take place from July 21 to 26 in Paris, France. Twenty-four teams compete in a two-stage format for a prize pool of $2,025,000, as reported by Dot Esports.
Made in Thailand led the group stage with 119 points, followed by T1 with 110 and Natus Vincere with 93. The top 16 teams advanced to the Grand Final, held from July 24 to 26.
The event is played in Squads TPP mode on PC. The results of the Grand Final are pending.
Schedule, format and results of the group stage
The group stage will be played from July 21 to 23, followed by the grand final from July 24 to 26. Each phase consists of 18 matches spread over three days.
During the group stage, 24 teams were divided into three groups of eight and played round-robin matches between groups, with each team playing 12 matches. The top 16 teams advanced to the Grand Final; the last eight were eliminated.
The Grand Finals apply the Smash rule on Day 3. If a team eligible for match points wins a chicken dinner, the championship is secured. Otherwise, the team with the highest total score at the end wins.
Made in Thailand led the combined group stage standings with 119 points, reinforced by 79 points in the Group A vs B matches. T1 came in second with 110 points and Natus Vincere was third with 93.
The top eight teams in the group stage were: Made in Thailand (119), T1 (110), Natus Vincere (93), Twisted Minds (92), Team Falcons (86), Virtus.pro (85), 17 Gaming (76) and GAM Esports (76).
The eight teams eliminated after the group stage were JD Gaming, SOOPers, R8 Esports, Sharper Esports, Team Nemesis, TYLOO, Petrichor Road and Four Angry Men.
Participating teams and distribution of the prize pool
The 24 teams were divided into three groups.
Group A: Virtus.pro, All Gamers Global (AGAL International), SOOPers, Petrichor Road, TYLOO, Team Vitality, FULL SENSE and Shadow Esports.
Group B: Made in Thailand, Four Angry Men, Twisted Minds, Geekay Esports, Team Nemesis, Team Liquid, GAM Esports and R8 Esports.
Group C: 17 Gaming, Natus Vincere, T1, Gen.G Esports, JD Gaming, Team Falcons, The Vicious and Sharper Esports.
The $2,025,000 prize pool is awarded based on final standings in the Grand Final. First place receives $650,000 and 1,000 EWC Club points; second place receives $300,000 and 750 points; third place receives $200,000 and 500 points. The prize money decreases throughout the standings, with the 16th-place team receiving $20,000.
The eight teams eliminated in the group stage receive fixed payouts, ranging from $17,000 for JD Gaming (17th) to $10,000 for Four Angry Men (24th). The MVP award winner receives an additional $25,000.
How to look and what to pay attention to
The PUBG tournament at EWC 2026 is being streamed live on PUBG Esports’ official Twitch and YouTube channels. Match times follow the Paris event calendar; Viewers must convert the times to their local time zone to follow the Grand Final.
With the Grand Final underway, several outcomes remain undecided: whether Made in Thailand will be able to turn its group stage lead into a championship, as Grand Final points reset the standings among the final 16.
How the Day 3 Smash rule will affect the outcome, as a team eligible for match points can win the tournament with a single chicken dinner. The race for the MVP award, which offers a separate prize of $25,000.
Final placement for the $650,000 grand prize will be confirmed when the Grand Final concludes on July 26.
Dot Esports has not yet released Grand Final match results or final placements and will provide updates as the finals progress through July 26.
